


Christmas Sweater

by Jecari



Series: Buddiemas 2019 [12]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: 12 Days of Buddiemas (9-1-1), 12 days of Buddie, Buddiemas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Established Relationship, Fluff, Found Family, M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:33:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21889759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jecari/pseuds/Jecari
Summary: “Is it good?” Christopher asks, holding his sweater over his chest. A few pompoms fall off of it.Eddie squints and tilts his head. “Um…” He hums, trying to decide if it’s supposed to represent something or not.“It’s awesome, buddy!” Buck saves him and Eddie gives him a smile. “But… what is it?”“Christmas lights,” Christopher replies as a matter of factly.Buck nods and Eddie knows he can’t see the lights any more than he does. That doesn’t stop his boyfriend from looking at the sweater like it’s the most beautiful thing in the world and praise Christopher some more.Eddie’s heart grows even bigger, using his love for Buck as a booster.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Series: Buddiemas 2019 [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1567324
Comments: 5
Kudos: 216





	Christmas Sweater

**Author's Note:**

> Day 12 of 12 days of [Buddiemas ](https://buddiemas.tumblr.com/) is here! 
> 
> Prompt: Christmas Sweater
> 
> Last day! Buddiemas surely has been challenging for me because it took me out of my comfort zone and I'm not gonna lie I struggled a lot but I'm glad I did it! I can't wait to go back to write angst tho so be ready for some tears soon!
> 
> Thanks a lot for the kudos and comments (I'm gonna try to reply soon)
> 
> Hope you like it! ♥

Eddie doesn’t remember whose idea it was, but he hates it. This year, in addition to their usual Secret Santa game, someone suggested they also do ugly sweaters, and yes, Eddie loves Christmas and its traditions, but this is one he’s glad he’d been able to avoid for a while. However, as everyone chats excitedly, he can’t bring himself to admit it. And when Buck suggests they decorated their sweaters themselves, he knows he never will. He just sits in his chair and shakes his head as everyone sets the rules– something about buying plain red sweaters and turning them into Christmas ones with craft supplies– and focuses his attention on Buck who waves his hands as he speaks and smiles so brightly it warms his heart. Eddie loves him so much.

On their next day off, Eddie, Buck,and Christopher settle in the living room, sitting on the floor around the coffee table with plain red sweaters and all sorts of supplies scattered on the furniture. Glitter, glue, pompoms, tinsel, fabric, felt, paint… Buck got a bit of everything when he went shopping earlier and came back with his arms full of bags. With Christmas movies playing in the background, they get to work and spend the day laughing and bantering. 

None of them are good at decorating sweaters, but they don’t care— at least Eddie doesn’t. He can’t say the same about his son and his boyfriend. While the former almost ends up crying about four times, the latter threatens to throw away his sweater twice. Eddie? Eddie just enjoys spending time together, and it doesn’t matter what they are doing as long as they are together. He can’t help but smile at the thought. His heart feels so full that he almost can’t handle it anymore.

A few hours later, the sweaters go from boring to ugly. While he and Buck respected the Christmas theme– Eddie painted a reindeer on his sweater and uses a pompom for the nose and Buck used felt to make a sock he glues on the sweater and added glitter– Christopher went for a more abstract approach. The sweater is hardly red anymore, covered with a little bit of everything.

“Is it good?” Christopher asks, holding his sweater over his chest. A few pompoms fall off of it.

Eddie squints and tilts his head. “Um…” He hums, trying to decide if it’s supposed to represent something or not.

“It’s awesome, buddy!” Buck saves him and Eddie gives him a smile. “But… what is it?”

“Christmas lights,” Christopher replies as a matter of factly.

Buck nods and Eddie knows he can’t see the lights any more than he does. That doesn’t stop his boyfriend from looking at the sweater like it’s the most beautiful thing in the world and praise Christopher some more.

Eddie’s heart grows even bigger, using his love for Buck as a booster.

Eddie doesn’t know what makes him want to take action. Maybe it’s the way Buck fits so perfectly in his arms and in his life. Maybe it’s the sweet smile he puts on Christopher’s face every day and his unwavering support. Maybe it’s his heartwarming smile and the fire that his touch ignites inside Eddie’s body. Maybe it’s simply love. It’s probably all of that at once and so much more, too. Whatever it is, Eddie just wakes up with a plan in his head that he sets in motion as soon as he can. He doesn’t want to waste any more time. So, he starts with talking about it with Christopher, then Maddie, then Bobby, Hen, and Chimney. Their reactions go from a pat in the back to tears and their support and approval almost bring tears into Eddie’s eyes.

As days pass by and the Christmas party gets closer, Eddie finalizes the details of his plan. Keeping it a secret from his boyfriend isn’t easy because everyone is trying too hard to act normal and Buck is smart enough to see right through them. Chimney almost ruins everything at one point, but thankfully Hen saves the day by barging into Buck and Chimney’s conversation and elbowing her best friend. Eddie thanks her with a smile and she winks at him. Buck looks at them with a confused frown on his face that Eddie kisses away. He hopes it’s enough to make him forget about it, but of course, it isn’t. Buck asks about it as soon as they get into his jeep after their shift, and Eddie isn’t sure how he talks his way out of it, but he manages, if only just.

The day of the Christmas party, the atmosphere is odd at home. Eddie is nervous, Christopher is excited, and Buck is uncharacteristically silent, and it fills the air with a tension that Eddie can feel in his bones. He hates it. But he shakes that feeling away, trying to convince himself that he’s just projecting his nervousness onto his boyfriend and that there’s nothing weird with Buck. Except that there is– Buck can’t even look at him in the eye.

“Hey,” Eddie softly says while Christopher is in his room, getting ready to leave.  
He thinks his touch on Buck’s arm is as gentle as his voice, but when his boyfriend jumps, Eddie has doubts. Buck still offers him a small smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Are you okay?” He asks, and Buck looks down at his feet.

“Yeah,” Buck replies. “I’m gonna check if Christopher needs help,” he adds, changing the subject quickly. 

After Buck takes a few steps down the hallway leading to the bedrooms, Eddie remembers. He remembers that Buck can’t see Christopher’s sweater before they get to Bobby and Athena’s. So, he sprints down the hall, past his boyfriend and throws the first excuse he can find to send Buck into another room. The man eye him suspiciously, but it still works.

When they get to the house Eddie discreetly texts Bobby with shaky hands as Buck helps Christopher out of the truck. As they get closer to the door, his heart beats faster and faster, a strange mix of nerves and excitement settling in his stomach. There’s no going back now. Eddie takes a deep breath to gather his courage and rings the doorbell. May is the one who opens the door a few seconds later, a knowing smile on her face that Buck doesn’t comment. Though the frown bringing his eyebrows together tells Eddie he notices it. The teenager greets them and offers her hand to Christopher who follows her down the stairs after sending Eddie a big smile. Before Buck can follow them, he stops him by wrapping his fingers against his wrist and tugging at it until the younger man turns around and their eyes meet. His boyfriend quickly looks away.

“Are you okay?” Eddie asks again, and once again, Buck offers him a smile that doesn’t convince him.

“Yeah, are you?”

“Yeah,” Eddie sighs. He cups Buck’s jaw and makes him look at him. “You know I love you, right?”

He doesn’t know why he says it, but it feels like it’s the right thing to say right now. 

As if he needed to hear those words, Buck relaxes and smiles. This time it looks genuine .

“I know,” he says before kissing him. “I love you, too.”

The statement feels better than it ever did, filling Eddie’s heart with love, happiness, and certainty. He takes a step forward, pressing their bodies together and kisses him. Buck laughs against his lips and his fingers digs into the skin of his waist. The kiss is soft, wet, and full of promises, and for a second Eddie thinks Buck knows. When they break the kiss, he shakes his head to chase the thought away and takes Buck’s hand. He drags him inside, closes the door, and walks down the stairs, not letting go of his boyfriend’s hand. When Buck stops in the middle of the stairs, Eddie feels his heart stop and his breath catch in his throat in anticipation.

Down the stairs, all their friends– their family– are standing in line with their backs to them. First Maddie then Bobby, Chimney, Hen, Karen, Athena, Michael and finally Christopher. Each one has a letter made with a tinsel on the back of their sweater, spelling a question that has been on Eddie’s mind for a while now.

Marry me?

When a few moments pass and Buck doesn’t say a word, Eddie’s heart breaks a little bit and doubts creeps into his head. More than doubt, it’s raw fear. He’s scared he’s ruined everything. He’s scared he’s lost his best friend. He’s scared he’s lost the love of his life. The word that finally escaped Buck’s mouth in a whisper does nothing to tame his fear.

“No…”

This time, Eddie’s heart entirely cracks into a million tiny pieces and he feels tears burning behind his eyes but holds them back. A few feet down, everyone has turned around and is observing them, but Eddie doesn’t pay attention to them. He focuses on Buck, who turns to him, a look on his face that Eddie can’t grasp. He looks amused, pissed and frustrated all at once. So, when he bursts out laughing and latches onto him, he doesn’t understand what’s going on. Eddie gasps in surprise and finds himself trapped between the wall and Buck’s body as the younger man gives him several little kisses on the lips.

“What?” Eddie can only ask, frowning.

Buck locks his arms behind his neck, holding him close. “Check my back pocket,” he whispers against his lips.

Eddie does as he says. His right hand reaches for the back pocket of Buck’s jeans as someone– Athena, Eddie recognizes her voice– reminds them that there are kids in the room, and someone else– Chimney– jokes about the adults not wanting to watch that either. Eddie ignores them and slips his hand into the pocket while Buck smiles at him between soft kisses placed all over his face. Inside the pocket, he finds a little velvet box. He takes it and Buck stops kissing him as he looks at it, confused.

“Open it,” Buck prompts.

Eddie obeys and opens the box with shaky hands as Buck stares at him with the brightest smile he’s ever seen.

“What?” Eddie says again, looking at the silver ring inside the box.

Buck laughs. “I was going to propose,” he announces, breathless. “I was so nervous I couldn’t even look you in the eye, but I had a plan.”

“You were going to propose?” Eddie asks, dumbfounded. “To me?”

“No,” Buck laughs again, rolling his eyes, “to Chimney.”

“Hey!” Maddie and Chimney exclaim in sync.

“I…” Eddie breathes out, not knowing what to say.

Buck smiles and kisses him one more time. “I’m kind of mad you beat me to it, but,” he stops and looks at everyone else, “I have to admit this is better than what I had planned. You’ve outdone yourself.”

“What was your plan?” Eddie can’t stop himself from asking, curious.

“I’m not answering that,” his boyfriend– fiancé? Eddie wonders– replies with a swift movement of his eyebrows, up then down.

Down the stairs, someone clears their throat to catch their attention. Buck and Eddie snap their head to the left, their gaze falling on Hen who’s looking at them with a smile.

“Can you at least answer this?” She asks Buck, making a vague motion to herself and the rest of their friends.  
Buck’s eyebrows shoot up when he realizes that he didn’t give an answer to Eddie, who just stares at him expectantly, a smile tugging at his lips.

“Of course, yes!” He kisses Eddie on the lips. “Yes.”

Eddie chuckles as Buck takes the little box from his hand and takes a step back. He kneels on the stairs, holding his hand out and looking up at Eddie with so much love and happiness that he melts.

“Will you marry me?” Buck asks, and Eddie sees some of their friends rolling their eyes at him and others smiling. Maddie even wipes away a tear.

“You’re already engaged,” Chimney points out in a tone that implies that there was supposed to be an ‘idiot’ at the end of his sentence.

“Shhh,” Athena shushes him, waving her hand at him.

Eddie laughs and shakes his head before giving his answer. “Yes.”

Buck smiles up at him and slips the ring on his finger before standing up and kissing him again under the cheers and applause of their family.

**Author's Note:**

> Big thank you to my beta [ bisexualbucks ](https://bisexualbucks.tumblr.com/) who did an amazing job, as always! ♥
> 
> Find me on [ Tumblr ](https://depthandcharacter.tumblr.com) and don't hesitate to drop prompts in my askbox!
> 
> Comments and Kuddos are highly appreciated. Your kind words make my days ♥


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